Synapse News and Research

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Molecular switch plays crucial role in addictive behavior and memory processes

Learning and memory formation are based on the creation of new connections between neurons in the brain. Also, behaviors such as nicotine addiction manifest themselves in long-term changes of neuronal connectivity and can - at least in this respect - be viewed as a form of learning.

30 Nov 2010

State-of-the-art imaging system helps locate and count myriad connections between brain nerve cells

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, applying a state-of-the-art imaging system to brain-tissue samples from mice, have been able to quickly and accurately locate and count the myriad connections between nerve cells in unprecedented detail, as well as to capture and catalog those connections' surprising variety.

18 Nov 2010

Researchers improvise fruit fly as a model system to study brain development, disorders

VIB researchers attached to the K.U.Leuven have improved the fruit fly as a model for studying the connections between brain cells. The researchers developed a specific marker for a part of the fly's nerve cell which had previously been difficult to distinguish. Their discovery will not only contribute to gaining a better insight into brain development but also makes the fruit fly into a better model system for studying brain development and brain disorders.

15 Nov 2010

Neurons recycle protein components for neurotransmitter release

Neurons communicate via chemical transmitters which they store in the bubble-like synaptic vesicles and release as required. To be able to react reliably to stimulation, neurons must have a certain number of "acutely releasable" vesicles. With the help of a new method, neuroscientists at the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in G-ttingen have now discovered that neurons systematically recycle the protein components necessary for transmitter release and in this way guarantee the reliability of signal transmission in the brain.

11 Nov 2010

New radiotracer application may advance understanding of estrogen-related diseases

A study at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has demonstrated that a molecule "tagged" with a radioactive form of carbon can be used to image aromatase, an enzyme responsible for the production of estrogen, in the human brain. The research, published in the November issue of Synapse, also uncovered that the regions of the brain where aromatase is concentrated may be unique to humans.

4 Nov 2010

University of Padua Professor wins Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

Frankfurt am Main. The chemist and biologist Professor Cesare Montecucco, 62, of the Department of Biomedical Research at the University of Padua, Italy, has won the 100,000 euro Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 2011 for his contribution to research in the field of bacterial diseases, including tetanus, botulism, anthrax and Helicobacter pylori associated diseases.

27 Oct 2010

Drugs that restore mitochondria function may treat Alzheimer's disease at early stages: Research

Before Alzheimer's patients experience memory loss, the brain's neurons have already suffered harm for years. A new study in mouse models by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has found that the brain's mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, are one of the earliest casualties of the disease. The study, which appeared in the online Early Edition of PNAS, also found that impaired mitochondria then injure the neurons' synapses, which are necessary for normal brain function.

14 Oct 2010

Stimulating brain's nicotine receptors may eliminate side effects of Alzheimer's drug: Research

A team of neuroscientists has discovered important new information in the search for an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, the debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts more than 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Hey-Kyoung Lee, associate professor in the University of Maryland Department of Biology, and her research team have shown that they may be able to eliminate debilitating side effects caused by a promising Alzheimer's drug by stimulating the brain's nicotine receptors.

14 Oct 2010

FDA designates NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System as HUD device for ALS patients

Synapse Biomedical Inc. announces today that they have received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation of the NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System (DPS) as a Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with a stimulatable diaphragm who are experiencing chronic hypoventilation and has now submitted for Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) approval.

11 Oct 2010

Researchers discover rhythmic changes in synapse numbers regulate sleep cycles

With the help of tiny, see-through fish, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers are homing in on what happens in the brain while you sleep. In a new study, they show how the circadian clock and sleep affect the scope of neuron-to-neuron connections in a particular region of the brain, and they identified a gene that appears to regulate the number of these connections, called synapses.

8 Oct 2010

McGill University joins two leading Swiss research institutions to enhance neuroscience research

Building on its worldwide reputation as a leader in neuroscience research, McGill University today joined with two leading Swiss research institutions - the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) - to enhance neuroscience research in a host of areas, in fields that include pain therapy, Alzheimer's disease, synapse modelling and repair, neuroimmunology and genetic mechanisms of brain diseases.

5 Oct 2010

Scientists uncover alternative source for damage associated with MS

Scientists have uncovered an alternative source for some of the damage associated with multiple sclerosis, an incurable neuroinflammatory disorder. The research, published online by Cell Press on September 23rd in the journal Immunity, reveals a direct interaction between immune cells and neurons that plays a significant role in neuronal injury and may respond to therapeutic intervention.

24 Sep 2010

Immune-mediated disturbances of neurons contribute to MS: Research

Researchers in Germany have gained new insight into how the immune system causes damage associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable neuroinflammatory disorder.

24 Sep 2010

APC dysfunction prevents synapse function required for learning, memory: Study

A clue to the causes of autism and mental retardation lies in the synapse, the tiny intercellular junction that rapidly transfers information from one neuron to the next. According to neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine, with students from the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, a protein called APC plays a key role in synapse maturation, and APC dysfunction prevents the synapse function required for typical learning and memory.

23 Aug 2010

Abnormalities in certain genes may cause autism: Research

Together with colleagues from an international research group, autism researcher Christopher Gillberg of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has found in a new study that autism can be partially explained by abnormalities in certain genes. The group's results could, in the long run, pave the way for more appropriate treatments for autism.

16 Aug 2010

MeCP2 protein regulates properties of psychostimulant drugs: Research

When a certain protein is mutated or missing, symptoms of the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome arise, causing a gradual loss of brain function during early development.This fact led Duke University Medical Center researchers to test a theory that the protein might also contribute to nerve-cell connection (synapse) changes in a fully formed adult mouse brain when exposed to psychostimulant use.

16 Aug 2010

Genomic sequence of living marine sponge reveals some basic information about cancer: Scientists

This week's publication of the complete genomic sequence of a living marine sponge reveals genes dating back hundreds of millions of years -- a result far exceeding the expectations of the scientific world.

5 Aug 2010

Exercise, restricted-calorie diets help to stave off mental, physical degeneration of aging: Research

Harvard University researchers have uncovered a mechanism through which caloric restriction and exercise delay some of the debilitating effects of aging by rejuvenating connections between nerves and the muscles that they control.

3 Aug 2010

Tel Aviv University discovers molecular power behind memory

Neuroscientists have long wondered how individual connections between brain cells remain diverse and "fit" enough for storing new memories. Reported in the prestigious science journal Neuron, a new study led by Dr. Inna Slutsky of the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University describes what makes some memories stick.

30 Jul 2010

First patient enrolled in Phase 3 SyNAPSe study of BHR-100 for TBI

BHR Pharma, LLC announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in its SyNAPSe study, a global, Phase 3, pivotal trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of its intravenous progesterone infusion product (BHR-100) as a neuroprotective agent for treating severe (Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 4-8) traumatic brain injury patients.

23 Jul 2010